COURTESY EAST-WEST CENTER GALLERY
"Crocodile Man," by Jakupa Ako, is a multicolor woodcut print on paper. The piece is part of "Altogether: Contemporary Papua New Guinea Art," showing at the East-West Center Gallery through Sept. 5.

Confronting modernity

The significance of "Altogether: Contemporary Papua New Guinea Art" might not be apparent to those of us who haven't brushed up on our geography and history. But the country, home to more than 6 million people with more than 700 indigenous languages, has made an incredible transition into the modern world in the past 70 years.

It was in the 1930s when Westerners first made contact with Papua New Guinea tribes, and the country was ruled by Australia until 1975. Upon independence the new country began exploring a national identity (as opposed to clan membership), and a supportive political and intellectual climate nurtured the development of contemporary art.

COURTESY EAST-WEST CENTER GALLERY
"Bird of Paradise and Snake," an ink and acrylic on paper, is a work by Mathias Kauage that depicts the country's national bird.

"The people were forming a nation based on finding like-minded ideas over disparate tribes," says Michael Schuster, curator at the East-West Center Gallery, where the exhibit runs through Sept. 5. "They were confronting modernity quickly, and that is wonderfully reflected in their artwork."

Three artists -- Timothy Akis, Jakupa Ako and Mathias Kauage -- had a major influence on the nation's art as they demonstrated how indigenous culture could be reflected in contemporary art forms.

"There was no tradition of painting in the country. It's all been originated over the last 40 years," Schuster says. "We rarely get to see an exhibit of the genesis of a people's tradition."

The East-West Center Gallery, at John A. Burns Hall on the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus, is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Call 944-7584.